This invention relates to toilet flush systems that are in wide use and characterized by a floating flapper valve. This is the flush valve that holds a substantial volume of water in the flush tank, for sudden release to cause flushing of the toilet bowl, followed by refilling responsive to a float controlled filling means. This flush valve is essentially a releasable check valve held shut by the head of water pressure as the flush tank is filled, a feature of this valve being the entrapment of air within a downwardly open chamber, so that it will float upward when lifted from the valve seat, and so that it will float downward to re-seat when the water level drops to seat level. There is presently no control over these flush valves when they have been released by initial lifted from the valve seats, so that each operation of the usual flush system consumes an entire flush tank of water. Consequently, toilets of this type are designed to minimize water volume requirements, either by reducing the flush tank volume or by reducing the flush water velocity. And, as a result the flushing performance is often inadequate, so that a second flushing is often required; with the obvious over use of water. However, in the event of an insufficient flushing, a small additional surge of water will complete the operation; but this is not possible with the state of the art flush systems of the type under consideration. Therefore, it is an object of this invention to provide a control by which the discharge of flush water is manually controlled as circuimstances require, whereby the flush valve can be shut the moment sufficient flushing has been attained.
It is an object to retrofit toilet flush flapper valves with a height limiting means, all without change thereto, whereby the toilet flush system is converted to manual control. The prior art principle of operation requires lifting the valve from the seat to a level where flotation overcomes the downward pull of the released flushing water, it being an object of this invention to provide limiting means that precludes reaching this flotation level by holding a restricted position below it. Consequently, the downward pull of released flushing water inherently drags the valve onto the seat to shut off flushing water flow as may be required. Therefore, only enough water need be used through observation by the user when flushing the toilet. For example, a small deposite of urine or fecal matter will require but a short burst of flushing water, and likewise an insufficient previous flushing will be completed with a short burst.
Flapper type flush valves are comprised of a large diameter body establishing a float chamber, downwardly open, positioned by a lever swinging from pivots supported by an overflow tube that opens from the top of the flush tank and into the flush passage beneath the flush valve seat. The limiting means is provided herein to restrict lifting of the flapper valve by a lanyard or chain, and is in the form of a bracket and gage assembly positioned at a predetermined height on the overflow tube by a clamp means, as determined by said gage.
The overflow tube to which the height controlling bracket of the present invention is mounted, varies in outside diameter, for example from one inch to one and one quarter inch. Therefore, an object of this invention is the universal adaptation to this variation in tube size, in the clamp means that attaches to said various tubes. To this end, the bracket and clamp means is made of a flexible material and characterized by a split collar that opens to accomodate the variations in the overflow tube diameters. Accordingly, the split collar embraces less than 360.degree. as it surrounds the overflow tube, in order to be drawn tightly onto the tube by a constricting clamp means, preferably a screw means engaged between lugs at opposed ends of the split collar.
The aforesaid variations in overflow tube diameter requires a substantial separation of the collar ends, when adapting to the larger diameter overflow tubes, and this misalignes the clamp screw axes through lugs at the opposed ends of the split collar. Therefore, it is another object of this invenion to provide alignment means in at least one lug configuration, whereby a clamp screw axis is aligned with two lugs. In practice, one of said lugs has inner and outer sections, one section to establish alignment when adapting to a small diameter overflow tube, and the other to establish alignment when adapting to a large diameter overflow tube. The material of the clamp collar is flexible so that alignment is substantially accurate and such as to flexibly adjust to slight misalignments and intermediate alignments as well.
It is still another object of this invention to provide an inexpensive product, and to this end the bracket and clamp member is a pressure molded plastic part, produced from a simple male and female mold without core slides. Also, the material used is necessarily flexible, for those reasons above stated, in which case the screw alignment must be secured. Accordingly, the screw head is captured by means of a shouldered recess that is opposed to a saddle that supports the body or shank of the screw. This feature is accomplished in the mold configuration that involves "shut-offs" in the mold (see FIGS. 3, 6 and 7), rather than "core slides".